The present invention relates to portable, insulated containers and more particularly to an insulated tote particularly adapted for storing containerized drinks.
Insulated containers have been developed for storing a variety of food and drink products, particularly where these products need to be kept cool or warm for a prolonged period. Some insulated containers have been developed to accommodate a so-called six pack of twelve ounce cans, generally in the upright position. While such coolers are convenient to the consumer, twelve packs of sodas have become increasingly popular. In particular, an elongated twelve pack beverage box, marketed as the FRIDGE PACK, has been developed. This elongated twelve pack beverage box has a partly removable end wall to provide access to the beverages disposed within it. Advantagely, the box can be easily disposed on a refrigerator shelf in a can dispensing position. Should the consumer wish to transport the chilled beverage cans, however, he must either place the box in a much larger cooler/ice chest, or the cans must be removed from the box before transport.
The invention provides an insulated tote which is adapted in particular to receive an elongated twelve pack beverage box so that the beverages can be purchased in the twelve pack box, placed in a refrigerator for initial cooling, and then transported in the tote provided in accordance with the invention, to maintain the chilled temperature of the beverage cans. The tote provided in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention further includes an end access door so that chilled beverage cans may be removed individually from the beverage box without removing the beverage box from the tote and without unduly comprising the insulating characteristics of the tote.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, a flexible strap is provided for suspending and transporting an elongated tote. In an exemplary embodiment, the strap is eccentrically mounted to the tote so that a stable support of the elongated tote is facilitated.
Although the tote may be a hard sided container, in an exemplary embodiment, the elongated tote of the invention is formed with generally flexible insulating walls as a so-called soft-sided cooler, so that it is lightweight and can be reduced in size or even flattened for storage.
Thus, the invention may be embodied in an insulated container comprising: insulated side and end wall panels; a bottom wall panel; and a top wall panel, said top panel being secured to at least one of said side and end wall panels, said side, end, top and bottom end wall panels defining an insulated enclosure volume therebetween, at least a portion of said top wall panel being displaceable with respect to a top edge of said side and end wall panels as a lid panel to provide selective access to said insulated enclosure volume, wherein a length of said side wall panels is at least about 2½ times a width of said end wall panels and at least about 2½ times a height thereof.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the lid panel has a length generally corresponding to said length of said side wall panels and a width generally corresponding to a width of said end wall panels.
The invention may also be embodied in an insulated container comprising insulated front, rear and end panels, a bottom panel and a top panel detachably secured to at least one of said front, rear, and side panels, said panels defining an insulated enclosure volume therebetween, said top panel being displaceable with respect to a top edge of said front, rear, and end panels to provide selective access to said insulated enclosure volume, a carrying strap having first and second longitudinal ends, said first longitudinal end being secured to said front panel and said second longitudinal end being secured to said rear panel, said first and second longitudinal ends being offset from one another along a longitudinal axis of said cooler so that said longitudinal ends are each laterally offset from a plane perpendicular to and passing through a longitudinal midpoint of said front and rear panels.